The Road to Wrestlemania
by Minako Miharu
Summary: AU: InuYasha is a hot new property for UGW, and he has his sights on the World Heavyweight Title! Can he make it all the way to Wrestlemania? FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. Not sure how many chapters this might be, but it might prove to be amusing! This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also

don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they

can be.

"If you know what's good for you, Yasha, you'll get a haircut."

"Keh."

Half a snort, half a noise indicating that he was full of supreme disinterest, and the newest, hottest acquisition of Ultimate Global Wrestling continued to twist his long silver hair into a braid. The braid was as thick as his wrist and would reach his waist when it was completed and it was just as big a part of his appeal as his strange and stunning golden eyes. Chicks dug the hair, and as long as they did, Yasha had absolutely no intention of letting a barber near it. Let some of those other losers fall for Vince's tricks for 'showcasing' their looks and talent, Yasha was having none of it. He'd been popular in Japan, he'd be just as popular here as is.

He wasn't the tallest of the wrestlers, nor the heaviest, but his muscles were sleek and dense and what he lacked in bulk he made up for in strength and speed. They used to say no one of his height and build could compete out of the cruiserweight division, until a man named Chris Jericho proved it could be done. Sure, nowadays Chris had bulked up a bit, but he was no taller than he'd ever been. Yasha was the hot ticket as they say, a fan favorite who had the mouth and attitude of a heel, but who was complaining? He sold merchandise hand over fist and he put the butts in the seats as the saying went. If he played his cards right, he might even get a slot on this year's Wrestlemania. Those were the plans, to pit him as the 'rebel' contender for the UGW Championship belt against the current reigning champion John Cena. The twist to this entire push was that Cena's crew was to include several that were now in Yasha's corner to make him look like more of the underdog against the popular Cena.

He'd grumbled a bit about it at first, but all in all it simply made his push make more sense. Revenge for betrayal was a story with roots in biblical times, one that never failed to resonate with any audience, particularly an American one. Yasha had a few large reservations with this one, as his own brother was being flown in from Japan to become the manager to the opposition. They were supposed to have a warm family reunion, Sesshou was going to be in his corner and then turn on him at Summerslam to back the competition as it were. It would not be a hard sell, Sesshoumaru had always been known to back the winner. Yasha just didn't like that for this push to work, he would have to lose a few matches. It made it easier to swallow to know that he would be the victim of interference rather than have to suffer outright losses. So while it annoyed him to know that his own older half brother would end up in the enemy camp for awhile, what annoyed him most was that they had chosen his ex-wife to become Cena's on-air love interest.

To him, that was hitting a bit below the belt.

He hadn't seen that conniving wench since their not so amicable divorce, and while he was aware that she had continued her career as a wrestler's escort despite the small tidy fortune she'd gotten from their settlement he had hoped that he would never see her again once he had left Japan to wrestle for the UGW. He reflected on her, and for not the first time he wondered how someone so beautiful on the outside could be so truly cold and dark on the inside. For not the first time as well he wondered why he'd fallen in love with her so fast and so hard when they had all warned him, even his emotionally distant brother had noticed that something was not right with Kikyou. It irked him even more perhaps that he hadn't found a single woman that could intrigue him for more than a weekend since his divorce in a fashion deeper than friendship. He refused to think that he might have a hidden reason for this. Like maybe he was afraid of getting hurt again, not in his body but his heart. Where the scars didn't show, but they sure affected everything.

He had unconsciously bared his teeth while thinking of his former wife, a low growl building in his throat, which he hurriedly cleared to make the man sitting next to him less uncomfortable … though why he bothered he wasn't certain as said worthy was making his own 'battle' noises and faces at his own locker mirror. Yeah. This was definitely going to be a few months of hell, though the thought of the pay off was enough to make even him starry-eyed, even if it was just a little. Wrestlemania. He could remember hearing about it, even overseas. How they had done something so new and so big, it could never be topped, until of course they topped it themselves. Every year it seemed it was bigger, brighter, better. It might almost be worth it, even having to deal with Kikyou, with keeping his own temper under control to really sell the story, all of it just might be worth it to stand under those lights and know that it was he, not some other slob, that was going to be in the main event at Wrestlemania.

At least he wasn't going to have to pick her up at the airport. Growling again, just a little, he adjusted his gear and stood up. Tonight would be the last time he and Sesshoumaru would be on the same side until after that ultimate pay per view, and he intended to make the most of it. He grinned a little then, moving like a predator as he exited the dressing room and headed out into the hallway. He'd meet his older brother at the curtain, stand there with him while his theme music swelled and the roar of the crowd rose up to clash against the heavy thumping beat. It was a rush like no other, and he proudly walked through the curtain shower of sparks that was part of his intro with his tall older brother at his side, taking those first steps on the Road to Wrestlemania.

A/N : I simply could not help myself. This isn't going to be a very long little fic but I hope that you all enjoy it.

Minako.


	2. Chapter 2 Summerslam

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. Not sure how many chapters this might be, but it might prove to be amusing! This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be.

Lyrics credited to AC/DC.

Summerslam, where the Road to Wrestlemania really began and the last match where Sesshoumaru would be on his side would be tonight.

Tonight he was facing a new opponent, one that he hadn't heard much about in the locker room other than one almost damning word. "Arrogant." While this could be an advantage on air, something that could drive a crowd wild either for or against you, back in the locker room it was expected that the new talent show a bit of respect for the veterans, the ones that had done their time with the near crushing travel schedule that the UGW Federation imposed on their talent. Yasha wanted to find out more about him, but the time just hadn't been there, though he knew from the five minutes spent going over their match that he just plain didn't like the guy. He'd left him wanting to growl, and put the running refrain into his head. 'Just one bite. Just one. No one will notice, right?'

The final strains of Yasha's theme music faded after the lovely announcer finished off his intro with …

"This match is scheduled for one fall, introducing our first wrestler, from Japan weighing in at 185 pounds, former Tag-team Champion from Team Akita … YASHA!"

He'd gone all four corners holding up his hands in the air to the crowd and the screaming ladies in the front row when the house lights dimmed to signal the beginning of the intro for his opponent tonight. Sesshoumaru stalked his spot at ringside while Yasha cleared it so the man could do his own intro. Arms folded in hostile fashion, his golden eyes focused on the entrance, occasionally flickering to watch his brother at his side. He refused to think about after tonight. No more traveling together openly, no more late night talks which he secretly enjoyed more than he'd ever tell his older brother. They'd come so far since they were children and he'd finally gotten Sesshoumaru to accept him for who he was and put aside some of the more cryptic issues raised by their shared father's death. He refused to think that any of that hard won ground would be lost because of a storyline push.

Then there came the first sounds of the skillful fretwork of Angus Young, and the theme song of his opponent wailed out over the intercom speaker system with unholy urgency. The low bass tones rumbled through the arena like the pulse of the heavens themselves, and Yasha had to give grudging props to whoever had chosen this particular song for this pair coming down the ramp now. It was as if the song were written with them in mind, fitting their image like a hand in a silk lined kid glove.

"THUNDER!"

They appeared in the archway then, the elder brother a few steps ahead with his chin up in a superior fashion, his long dark braid snaking down his back and moving in counterpoint to his steps as he stopped at the top of the ramp to lift a fist in the air with the next line, moving down with purpose towards the ring with a razor grin on his face.

"THUNDER!"

He was lithe, handsome and a definite hit with the ladies despite his arrogance or maybe even because of it, choosing a lady at ringside to half pull over the rail to kiss senseless, then mugging for the camera with … "You've been … thunderstruck!"

His brother had come down behind him, the younger brother a bit taller but much thicker and not nearly so handsome. Where the older was lithe and quick the younger was heavily muscled, the definite powerhouse of the pair of wrestlers and the cause of more than one victory in the ring. The pair owned the ring as they entered, and the lovely announcer's voice came once more. Yasha actually turned to look at her this time, he had never heard her voice before so he knew she had to be new. For a moment his golden eyes narrowed. Kikyou! What was she doing announcing, she wasn't scheduled to come into the story just yet … but then those narrowed golden eyes opened a bit wider and he relaxed. Not Kikyou after all, though her dark hair, pale skin, and huge dark eyes had fooled him at first glance. She smiled as she drew in a breath to continue.

"Entering the ring is his opponent, weighing in at 220 pounds, one half of the UGW's newest tag team in solo competition tonight, HITEN of The Thunder Brothers!"

Yasha's heart sped up a bit. The ring announcer just looked so joyous, he half regretted that he hadn't been watching her when she'd said his own name. He shook himself, what was he doing, he had a match to do and no time to be half mooning over some girl whose name he didn't even know! He didn't see Sesshoumaru's strange glance in his direction or how his brother's gaze had followed his own former line of sight. Now none of that mattered, he was in the ring bouncing just a bit on the balls of his feet and waiting for the bell. It was show time, and Yasha never failed to deliver the most exciting match that he could pull out. Then there was the bell and everything became a blur. They opened up with a pair of circling attacks, both seemingly evenly matched and those clashes continued for the first few moments. Pulse hammering through his veins he broke away from Hiten's forearm smash to leap feet first towards the ropes. Heels striking the rebound were more than enough to send him into a flip, a lionsault off the top rope hurtling into Hiten's chest and knocking him down.

His grin feral, he snarled as Hiten kipped up fast from the attack, showboating for the crowd. Despite the momentary spike of irritation Yasha felt about this, he knew that the match was going well. The crowd was into it, and they were lucky, often the first match of any pay per view was talked through or heckled as something to be gotten past to get to the 'good' matches. Yasha was happy about this, and it made him work even harder to give them the match of their lives. He felt his skin heat and sweat make it glow, the muscles of his lean form moving with innate perfection as he fought with Hiten. Back and forth they went, slamming into the ropes and into each other, fists and open handed slaps landing on target, and Yasha's hard knife-edged chops echoing out into the air and reddening the flesh of Hiten's chest. Move after move came fast until Yasha finally had Hiten rolled up in a small package … only to suddenly see stars as Hiten's brother Manten hit him in the back of the head with a steel chair. He'd known that something would happen, but that really hurt! He could hear the urgent ringing of the ring bell, the voice of one of the color commentary announcers commenting on Manten's cowardly attack, and the voice of the ring announcer naming him as the winner due to interference. He hated that. He wanted his wins and losses clean, but this was how it had to be, and really this was less ego bruising than a direct loss.

The Thunder Brothers did not withdraw without sending more of a message however. Hiten and Manten were striking him while he was down, and for a moment he thought he heard that vibrant voice again, the voice of the ring announcer calling to him. 'Yasha!'

Pained golden gaze tried to seek her out, as the white blur that was Sesshoumaru entered the ring, looming over the pair of brothers beating on his own. For a moment Yasha felt time slow down, a vivid memory from his childhood surfacing for a split second, but this time was different. This time the graceful older brother beat off the bullies, throwing Hiten and Manten out on the floor with a howl, his customary icy demeanor still in place in expression despite that sound. Then his hand reached down to help him up and he heard his theme music swell again, as did the pride in his heart when his brother put his arm around his shoulders. Could he give this up, even for Wrestlemania?

Golden eyes gazed around at the crowd, one beginning to swell almost shut from the assault he'd suffered at the hands of the Thunder Brothers, and somehow out of the entire crowd, his eyes only sought out that girl, the ring announcer that had held such joy in her voice. Later, he promised himself, he'd find out just who she was. For now was the time to bask in his last golden moment for a few months, and he intended to enjoy every last second of it.

A/N: Hope the action in this wasn't too muddy, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	3. King of the Ring

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. Not sure how many chapters this might be, but it might prove to be amusing! This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be.

Lyrics to Randy Orton's theme music are property of WWE Inc.

It had happened the week before. He was still pissed about it, the mantra of 'it's all for the push, it's all for the push' running through his head still wasn't enough to keep him from being pissed. It was a small comfort that Sesshoumaru was pissed off too. Pissed off enough to have been on the phone that same night with folks at N.W.A/TNA to fish out if they might be interested in a pair of contracts that just might be coming up for negotiation soon.

A pissed off Yasha was no one that anyone wanted to spend time with in the locker room. Despite the sympathy they were feeling, he was still madder than a wet dog and was snapping at the worst times. He wanted to be sitting with his brother, checking on how he was feeling, but he'd had to settle for stupid text messages and snuck phone calls. He hated text messaging, he was so slow that he always ended up feeling stupid by the time he was finished. At least tonight he'd get a measure of revenge, sweet, chilly orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream sweet revenge for what had happened. It was exactly one week ago that his hell had begun and he was praying that he'd have the strength to endure it. The thought of it had been bad enough. It was supposed to happen during a scheduled match on RAW with him up against Randy Orton, he'd worked with Orton before and trusted him to follow his cues perfectly. Randy was as young as Yasha and damn near as good with one of the best picture perfect high standing drop kicks the business had ever seen, a thing of absolute beauty though it stung like the very devil when it connected. Now this was not to say that Yasha actually liked Randy, but he trusted him not to hurt him in the ring and that was saying quite a lot.

The idea was that Randy's escort, his own father Cowboy Bob Orton would move to interfere with the match, and in the process Sesshoumaru would move to stop him and get an 'injury' of some unspecified sort that he would blame irrationally on Yasha's 'recklessness'. Yasha wasn't happy about that but the upper management felt it was the most logical way to get the brothers separated for the time being. Unfortunately for everyone involved that night the feigned injury had turned out to be all too real as Bob's swing had actually broken Sesshoumaru's left arm for real. Broken it in two places and had bone exposed, and Yasha had woken up that night after having a nightmare in which he had heard that sickening snap over and over. There had been some minor nerve damage which they had been assured would go away with therapy but the thing that stuck in both brother's craw was that it should never have happened at all. And that they had forced Sesshoumaru to go through with the speech before they would take him to get his arm looked at by the med techs was nearly the final straw.

The words were still ringing in his ears, much like that snap of bones. He hated knowing that going in to this, King of the Ring he would not come out the winner. He hated that Sesshoumaru would make his first appearance after his injury and spectacular 'defection' to Cena's camp tonight as well. To top it all off Yasha was nervous. What would stop the Orton's from injuring him 'accidentally' as well? Nothing, that's what. It made him grit his sharp teeth, he had trusted Randy and by extension Randy's father. They had both protested to the end that it was an accident, but something in Yasha's gut told him that it was no such thing. The frustration was enough that he actually threw back his head and howled, loud enough to know that he needed to stop this destructive train of thought. He knew he was going to lose, but he'd promised Sesshoumaru one thing as well. No matter what, Randy Orton was going to get his ass beat. He leaned his forehead against the cool metal of his locker and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself and find his center. He could already hear Randy's music starting up, it meant that he had about five minutes to get his act together and get out there himself but he just wanted to pull Randy out into the street and brawl.

'Hey! Nothing you can say! Is going to change what you've done to me!'

How fitting, the words to Randy's theme. He took another breath, a deep heaving one and maybe that was how he'd missed it. The door had opened, and he heard a soft voice ask ….

"Hey … Yasha? Are you all right?"

A beat of his heart, hard in his chest and his pulse quickened as he whirled, rising from the bench as he turned. It was her. She had been a temporary replacement for Lillian Garcia who had been doing a bit of community relations work in New York and they had her doing odd jobs now until they decided whether or not to keep her on. He'd been all set to yell too, until he saw her huge eyes, and the concern in them which he knew was for him. It wasn't feigned, it was real unlike most of what went on at this place. His golden eyes took her in and she could see that the answer was most definitely no and he knew that. Hated that he was so transparent to her, when they'd never even spoken, his intention to actually do that never gone through with, too much had gotten in the way hadn't it. He wasn't even sure of her name.

"Course I'm fine, wench."

A fire lit in those huge eyes, the concern was still there but it was as if she knew what he was playing at and instead of calling him on it chose to play along.

"My name isn't wench. It's Kagome."

He knew he was smiling like a dork when she sounded it out for him, though he quickly hid that grin with his usual gruff banter. Looking around quickly, he picked up his leather jacket and thrust it at her.

"Come on wench, put that on. You're coming with me, ain'tcha?"

All the reward he could ever want came with that sudden look of joyousness that he'd had a glimpse of when he'd seen her announce at Summerslam. Vince wouldn't like it that he hadn't cleared this with him first, but as far as Yasha was concerned Vince owed him and Yasha didn't like it when there were debts owed to him left unpaid. It wouldn't be enough to balance the damage done to his brother but it was a start. It was so worth it, to have this walking little sunshine escort him to the ring. He had heard the hesitation when Lillian introduced him and he growled low and deep until she'd said the girl's name too, giving her place at his side. For a last minute choice she sure stepped up to the task, parting the ring ropes for him and then letting him lift her up over them to show off his strength. She didn't even scream with surprise, she trusted him not to drop her and that made him glow with pride. Later he might wonder just what made him do all this, but right now it made him happy. He saw his brother sitting up with the announcers, and even if no one else saw it he saw that moment of surprise in his brother's golden eyes and then the slight upward tilt of the corners of his mouth. Sesshoumaru approved. Maybe it was just for tonight … no. He knew when she raised his arm up as if she knew he'd win no matter what that she would be with him all the way up to Wrestlemania. He hadn't fought hard enough to keep his brother at his side, but he wouldn't be that easily swayed with Kagome.

The match itself was almost anticlimactic, after all of that. He absolutely relished every time that his fist met Randy's pretty face, those moments that he growled in Randy's ear that he was going to make him pay for his part in Sesshoumaru's arm getting busted and he saw Randy pale under his tan, even though Randy knew in the end that Yasha wasn't going to win. They hadn't expected him to have a new escort to the ring, but that worked to their advantage as they used her to distract Yasha at a critical moment. Cowboy Bob chased her around the ring and when Yasha turned to save her Randy hit him from behind and drove him into the referee. That worthy hit the mat like a sack of wet sand, Bob left off his pursuit and Yasha and Randy went toe to toe in a fast exchange of closed fist punches. Randy set him up for the RKO, but Yasha countered and came up with a Twist of Fate. Playing it for the crowd he waited for the three count that never came, hearing Kagome scream for the ref to get up made him smile. He rolled, kipped up and moved to shake the ref, and after that it was all a blur. What was with the steel chairs! He was vaguely aware of Bob himself doing the count for his son's win, of Kagome climbing in the ring and pulling him away from them. Texting his brother later while she held an icepack to his forehead, he couldn't help the grin that was forming on his lips at what he learned from what his brother was sending him.

'She kicked Randy right in the shin before she dragged you out of there. I vote we keep her.'

Yeah. Looking back at her a little he felt himself wholeheartedly agree. He didn't know much about her at all. He should be scared that she mattered at all, that he was interested at all, especially after his ruined marriage with Kikyou.

'Yeah, I vote we keep her too.'

A/N: This played out so differently in my head! I just couldn't decide who Yasha should fight for King of the Ring, my husband so helpfully replied with Randy Orton so there you go. I think maybe that I rushed getting Kagome lined up with Yasha but in the end I kept it. Hope you enjoy!


	4. Survivor Series

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be. ' ' is for text messages, I hadn't noted that before but that's what it is.

It was going to be an old fashioned Survivor Series Pay per View. Over the years the idea behind it had changed so much that it was often no more than a mish-mash of standard matches topped off by a couple of tag team championships, but this year Vince had decided for a retro event and there it was. Four man teams against each other, each team battling it out in the ring until the other team was eliminated via pinfall. At the end of the night the surviving teams would get the ultimate prize for this, a guaranteed spot for the Royal Rumble. This was a hotly pursued thing, because as everyone knew the winner of the Royal Rumble was guaranteed a spot in Wrestlemania, competing for the Championship. It wasn't easy to win, thirty other men would be competing for the same goal but it could be done and the victory was sweet. Everyone wanted the coveted number thirty spot, the last man in with the least amount of time to actually fight. Everyone wanted number thirty and no one wanted number one unless they had a point to prove ala Chris Benoit or Shawn Michaels, two of the few to ever last from start to finish and win.

At this point Yasha was wondering if he would even get a spot in the Rumble. He had the distinct feeling that he and Sesshoumaru were being double dealt and it was a feeling that he didn't care for at all. Cena's camp had kept up the smack talk, starting the "You want some, come get some" and Yasha knew he damn sure wanted some. But interference and other plots had kept that match a carrot on a stick for him and the fans. Vince was going to milk that cash cow for all it was worth, but that shouldn't have been a surprise. His one surprise was even now pushing the dressing room door open with her back, a cup of coffee in each hand and a stack of mail under one arm. Kagome. She brought a smile to his lips even in the midst of his brooding. He was paying her out of his own money, it was part of the deal he'd cut with Vince to keep her. When those huge chocolate eyes lit up when she turned and saw him lacing his boots he knew that he'd made the right choice. No one had ever looked at him like that, and meant it the way she had. She set the mail down and the drinks, and moved to fix his hair while he sat stock still and let her. She was the only person that he had let touch his silver mane since he'd divorced Kikyou, she had such a gentle touch and it soothed him, let him concentrate on the match to come instead of the political backstage mess.

His cell phone went off and he flipped it open while she finished his wrist thick braid to read the text message his brother sent him. He'd been upset earlier that the stage manager wanted to run the Team Akita music for his four man team, they hadn't even discussed it with the others yet and he felt like decisions were being made without him that he should be there for. He was still unsure just who would be going out with him, he wanted Sesshoumaru, just like the old days but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Broken arm aside the push still had him going out to support Cena's team. Yasha hated that. He was scowling as he began to read, Kagome's hands were trying to soothe him by rubbing his shoulders which was nice, and he closed his eyes a moment to just stop and draw in her scent. She was like nothing and no one else, and he let the tension go and started reading again as a smile began to spread on his lips again. He nudged her a bit with his elbow and held up the phone to her so she could see it too. She leaned down, and he reveled in the feel of her on his back as she read the message Sesshoumaru had sent. She had a tiny worried frown as she read the text from Sesshoumaru at first, and then Yasha had to hide a grin when she gave a tiny laugh.

'Hello Kagome, I am sure Yasha is letting you read this.'

His brother was indeed one of a kind. He'd known how wound up his younger brother was and had sent him some assurance, and more. It had taken a bit of string pulling, an emergency pair of plane tickets, and an eighteen and a half hour flight. A lot of effort but the results were worth it. For one night only, two of their former team mates from Japan were joining Team Akita once more and were on the way to the arena now. Yasha wasn't sure just how Sesshoumaru had convinced them to allow this but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. They still needed a fourth, but honestly if he couldn't have Sesshoumaru himself he'd take some mook kid out of the back begging for a tryout and let him fill space because he knew for a fact that between the three of them they could handle just about whatever was thrown at them tonight. Of all he'd expected to have happen, he had to admit this was last on the list.

"Miroku and Kouga, we'll have to keep them close I don't think either of them can be trusted not to wander off with some pretty lady after the show. Kagome, this is going to rock."

There was a heartbeat of silence then came her voice, so full of joy.

"You actually called me Kagome, instead of wench. These guys must be something."

She made him laugh so hard he almost missed the knock on the door. He composed himself (barely) and gruffly called out for whoever it was to come in. A thick brow raised in surprise at the man that entered after that. While not the last person in the world that he'd think about talking to, it wasn't like they were all that close either, considering both were being portrayed as lone wolf fighters, and that thought was enough to make Yasha almost crack up all over again thinking of Kouga's imminent arrival. Kagome started text messaging Sesshoumaru on Yasha's phone and giggling, which did not bode well for later he was sure as he tried to pay more attention to the man in front of him. Matt Hardy had been getting the corporate shaft lately too after all, and Yasha heard him out. He'd wanted badly to be a part of Survivor Series only to be turned down by the front office and he knew Yasha needed a team or he'd be going it alone. He hadn't heard that Yasha had people coming in, but either way he was there to offer himself even if they ended up having to fight a handicap match against the other team. As a bonus he came bearing gifts so to speak, he had the names of the team Yasha's team would be facing. Not even Sesshoumaru had been able to get that, and he called Kagome back over with the phone and had her text the names to his brother. Randy Orton, not such a big surprise there, they were building that feud to carry through past Wrestlemania, Yasha knew. JBL, Johnny Nitro, and Kane rounded out that team and Yasha groaned a little. Kane was the current punisher for the front office, and Matt was taking a huge risk by lining up with Yasha. But there was one thing that Yasha knew about Matt, that man was fearless when it came to what he thought was right. He could have made it easier on himself and left Yasha in a lurch, the stage manager would have thrown a last minute team together and Yasha would have gotten mowed under.

He could have, but he didn't. This event was 'unscripted' for the most part, as long as certain guidelines were followed, and nearly everyone was excited by this chance to show off for the fans. Yasha grinned a moment, because he knew while he was not supposed to win, that did not mean that his team had to lose. It was splitting hairs but it had been Sesshoumaru's idea and he was all for it, and Matt's joining up had lifted his spirits a bit. Enough that he'd rose and shook his hand, inviting him to relax in his dressing room while they waited on the rest of the team. Matt had been intrigued when he'd heard that two of Yasha's former partners from Japan were coming from the airport even now and they all lamented a bit that they wouldn't have enough time to practice much before the show. Kagome had gotten the pleasure of telling the stage manager that Yasha did in fact have a full team when he'd come by with his stupid little clipboard, even going so far as to tell him that Yasha would never have picked anyone on that list, and she'd have filled a spot herself if it had come to that. It was enough that he smiled at her when she'd shut the door, and gave her the present he'd gotten for her early instead of after the show like he'd intended. It wasn't much, really, at least he hadn't thought so, but when he saw those big eyes tear up and she'd hugged him hard like she'd never let him go, well maybe he hadn't done so bad. It was just a locket, but she acted like he'd given her the keys to China. Then they'd bickered a little, just in fun and they'd all gotten a laugh out of it, even Sesshoumaru as Kagome ran around the room texting him while Yasha chased her to try and get the phone.

It wasn't long before Miroku and Kouga finally arrived and were led to the locker room and from there to Yasha's dressing room. Neither of them seemed the worse for the long trip, though Yasha was immediately set to growl at the both of them for circling Kagome like a pair of horny sharks, or in Kouga's case wolves. Miroku had come in dressed in his colors of purple and black, the warm up suit complimenting him well, dark hair pulled back in a short pony tail and his violet eyes warm, though any woman that could trust that smarmy smile was asking for it in Yasha's opinion. Kagome had liked him at first, until he had snuck a feel and then of course she'd set Yasha on him. Yasha laughingly complied, chasing him around much as he had Kagome earlier which gave Kouga his chance. He'd had eyes for no one but Kagome since they'd entered the room, and he sat down next to her while Yasha chased Miroku with the promise to pound him. She was still texting Sesshoumaru when Kouga finally spoke.

"When you are tired of dog boy there, come to Japan and be my woman. I'll double what he's paying you to escort him to the ring, you'll be a star."

Unfortunately for Kouga Yasha had heard him. He sat Miroku down next to Matt and told them to get acquainted, and he began rolling up his sleeves. Miroku and Matt tried to frantically wave and get Kouga's attention. He had one of Kagome's hands in his, her expression was a strange admixture of confusion, flattered woman, and annoyance, and she'd been in the middle of a text after all, though she hated to be rude.

"Umm … no thanks, Kouga is it? I … uh … I'm …"

"She's with me."

Wow, was that his voice sounding so deep with a growl under it? Kagome's smile at him told him it was, and he'd take on the whole roster to see her smile like that at him again even if it would get his ass kicked nine ways from Sunday. Kouga had been smart enough to let go, though he couldn't resist whispering to Kagome that if she ever changed her mind he'd be waiting. It puzzled him very much, even as it pissed him off. Miroku and Kouga had never acted like this around Kikyou, despite how lovely Kikyou was, what made Kagome different? But he already knew the answer to that one, didn't he? Just looking at her giggle while she texted his brother about the whole thing, and knowing that not only did Sesshoumaru not mind, but was texting her back … it was mind blowing, how much she influenced all those around her, just by being Kagome. Finally he had someone on his side that was going to stay there, that cared how he felt, what he thought, who worried about him because she could, not because he paid for her to do so. Kikyou had cared more for his money than him, and by the end made no secret of it, and that had made it hard for him to trust other people that wanted to be his friends afterwards. What if they had only wanted him for his money and fame as well? But not Kagome. The first thing that Kikyou would have asked if he'd given her that locket would have been how much it cost …

It made him growl again, until he felt her hand on his wrist, pausing in texting long enough to smile up at him. They had a few more minutes to get ready, and by that time they'd all agreed that they would go out under Team Akita's music much to the relief of the stage manager. That man had managed to annoy both Kouga and Miroku with his inability to properly say their names, though Yasha had assured them that the ring announcer would have no such trouble. Lillian was a professional after all, and would make sure she had their names right before she would even open her mouth. Matt had made them all laugh when he asked if this meant he was an unofficial member of Team Akita, Kagome adding to that by piping up to ask if she was too. If not for the lack of his brother being there Yasha would have said in that moment he really felt like he was surrounded by family. Yasha leaned out and snagged the stage manager one more time, and then began digging through the box Sesshoumaru had sent over. For last minute jobs, the shirts and robes looked sharp and at least they would look like they belonged in the same ring on the same side. Passing them around made him grin, especially when he was able to erase that soft pout Kagome had on her lips when she'd thought there wasn't one for her … damn, his brother had thought of everything after all. Now if only he could have been the one to take the win, this night would be perfect. He knew Kagome knew things had to be like this, it was part of the story, part of the push, but Yasha wanted her to see him win! Part of this was his own ultra competitiveness, but part of it was that he wanted to see the pride in her eyes when he won for her. As it was, he knew he'd have to wait, and part of him was beginning to rebel against the facts of his situation.

He wanted his brother here, with him tonight. He wanted to win, and have Kagome raise his hand in the air along with the ref. He wanted so much, but he knew to get what he really wanted he'd need to take his lumps just like everyone else in their time had to. But looking around at his team, at the smiles on their faces like they knew they were going to be a part of something big, even if that something was only for tonight, he knew he'd be patient as he could be. Things would come to him as events unfolded, if he could just hang on. They got the knock on the door that was their cue, and his hearing was able to pick up the strains of the song chosen as the Survivor Series theme. Again they were given the opening match, and he knew it was because Vince understood that no matter where he was he'd give all he had for the fans, and they would walk away talking about the match Yasha was in. Just his name on the bill was putting butts in the seats and selling cable time, it was power and sometimes that was all a man could ask for. He wasn't nervous now, not with his team around him and standing in the dark archway waiting. He could hear Kagome breathing next to him, the light touch of her fingertips on his wrist because she couldn't see nearly as well as he could in the dark and she didn't want to stumble. There came a crack of knuckles as Kouga loosened up behind him in the dark, and he could almost hear Miroku stretch, it was gods just like old times when he was a young untried punk kid back home and they had so much to prove.

Then there came a hush as the house lights went down, the opening theme finished and the announcers beginning to work up the crowd, and into that hush came the almost eerie strains of a traditional Japanese ballad. It started out slow and soft, and made him remember that he had always wondered just what made Sesshoumaru choose that, the excited yet confused murmuring running through the crowd began to make his pulse race. He knew that none of them knew Team Akita's original intro, but in the space of three heartbeats came the ferocious shred of metal guitars, blended incongruously with the piercing sound of a flute and this music they did know and there came the roar of applause and the screams of excitement that held direction. Lillian's voice rose after the first four bars, and the smell of the ozone drifted back to them all and he knew they had begun the pyrotechnics that signaled the start of their entrance. Miroku went first, moving out fast and to the left, a shower of sparks lighting him up as he lifted a gloved hand to the American crowd. Behind him on the giant digital display were playing images of him executing the high flying moves that he'd made famous in Japan as well as his brief earlier stint in the US with Team Akita, and then the images shifted with the music as Kouga came out, taking his spot to the right. Then the crowd was anticipating Yasha, but that was Matt's cue and while the images were pure Hardy Boyz, the music stayed the same as Matt lifted his hands in the V1 salute. Yasha spared a glance to Kagome, his heart hammering in his chest from the adrenaline as the music took a dip, then swelled up again as he parted the curtain and moved straight down the center, lifting both hands up over his head with his feet parted. He heard the crowd roar as Lillian introduced them by name and country of origin, and Kagome came in for her part of the entrance sliding between his feet as he bent to pick her up by the waist and turn with her held up in the air before him. He let her down so that the group could rush the ring together, one man on each ring post to show boat for the crowd and Kagome holding up her little hands in victory signs and waving to the cameramen. The feeling that went through them all at this was indescribable, it was just so right. For this one night, they were together and somehow, everything was going to be okay.

They pulled back to let the team they were facing come in to their own individual music and intros, a smug look on Yasha's face as he knew it made them look less like a team and gave his own side the sense of togetherness needed to actually win this match. He met Miroku's eyes and he smiled knowing that his old friend felt it too. They climbed up to take their positions and then the match began. Miroku had won the toss and was first up from Team Akita in the ring facing Johnny Nitro. Miroku had never heard of him but knew better than to underestimate anyone especially in a situation like this. Nitro had had some reasonable success in tag team action with MNM but was not so good with singles roles for some reason, despite how sharp his moves were. He was on his A game tonight and kept Miroku on his toes until he tagged out to JBL, who Miroku was ready for. He'd faced him once when the man still had his long black hair and was just Bradshaw and had a bit of respect for him even when he saw how sloppy he was tonight. Sloppy or not he caught Miroku with a Clothesline from Hell, unfortunately for him Miroku had been thrown close enough for Kouga to slide over the top rope and slap his arm for a tag in.

Kouga had no respect for JBL, unlike Miroku and some of the others but truth be told Kouga didn't have much respect for anyone that wasn't 'family'. Pack in his words, and he took the concept of Pack very seriously. Miroku was a bit winded but gave him the thumbs up and Kouga set JBL up for his double Super Kick. It was a bit like Sweet Chin Music, if that move had included two direct strikes on the chin. No one but Kouga had ever been fast enough to do it, though some came close, and no one was fast enough to dodge that bullet when it was set up. JBL went down and Kouga got the pin, Kane's interference coming too late to save his team mate. Kouga squared off against the monster, holding up three fingers to indicate the other team and cockily lowered another finger to indicate two. He leaned back and let Hardy take the tag he was calling for, the key to taking Kane down was to not let him rest and while Kouga took a hard shot to the chest Matt came up out of nowhere and flipped off the top turnbuckle in a near perfect Swanton Bomb onto Kane. It brought the big man down but wouldn't be enough to take him out, though the quick tags began then in an effort to wear him out. It made the crowd go insane as they cheered and screamed, and at one point the remaining two members of Kane's team entered as well though Yasha cleared out Randy Orton fast enough. In the end it had been Matt Hardy that took out Kane with a moonsault followed fast by a Side Effect and then Twist of Fate, unfortunately he had been taken out by a fast roll up and pin by Johnny Nitro. Three on two then, and Miroku was back in against Nitro. Yasha and Orton were screaming insults at each other across the ring, and then Orton was in against Kouga while Nitro and Miroku took a breather, though Nitro and Orton were soon double teaming Kouga while the ref tried to keep Yasha and Miroku out of the ring.

Kouga was taken out, though he did get the picture perfect bird sent to Randy before he left the ring to sit with Matt Hardy. They really should be in the back, but neither man trusted that something wouldn't happen so they stayed close, at least to make sure Kagome stayed out of trouble. Yasha was going toe to toe with Randy now, escalating the feud between the two of them, when the trouble began. As predicted Kane came back to the ring and began to chase Kagome, Matt and Kouga dog piling him to the steel flooring that made up the ramp. Orton tried to pin Yasha while he was distracted, missed the opportunity but came back with an RKO. He ran for the ropes to gain momentum to strike Yasha while he was down, but Miroku dragged him to the corner and got the tag, and caught Randy in a sleeper hold. Well, it was more like a choke hold than an authentic sleeper, but the results were the same. Yasha was still down when Miroku got the pin on Randy, coming up to tag and face off with Johnny Nitro who was feeling distinctly alone. Yasha wanted the win so bad he could taste it, but he knew he couldn't have it. It didn't mean that he was going to lay down for an elevated mook like Johnny Nitro though, and Nitro was feeling the beating when Yasha spotted Randy now chasing Kagome while the others dealt with Kane. It would do. He tagged out to Miroku and went after Orton, barely hearing the crowd go wild when Miroku took down Nitro with the mother of all hurricanranas.

He shoved Randy into the ringpost in time to look up and see Miroku get the pin. There were actual tears in those violet eyes, it had been awhile since Miroku had gotten the adulation his talent demanded and Yasha supposed it showed. He picked Kagome up in his arms and he knew she didn't care that he was sweaty and had blood streaming down his face from a pressure cut over his right eye. Team Akita had won. After so many losses, it felt like a chain had come undone around his heart and he howled, before climbing up into the ring still holding Kagome. She raised his hand, as the ref raised Miroku's, and they all had their hands in the air as Lillian announced them as the winners of this match. Yasha couldn't win, but his team did and it was good enough.

'I wanted you there, brother.'

'I know. But it was good enough to see the win.'

Yasha supposed that it was, at least for now. They had proven something here, even if they weren't sure of the scope of it yet. They might not be able to relieve the glories of the past, but there was still plenty of victory left out there, if they could just grab hold.

A/N: Longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoyed this one, I wanted to give it more attention and give a little more depth to the idea. I'm going to try a different format come Royal Rumble … which is not the next chapter but the one after. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


	5. Armageddon

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be. ' ' is for text messages, I hadn't noted that before but that's what it is.

Yasha wasn't too pleased to hear the rumors that were swirling around backstage. Not that he was ever too pleased to be a part of the rumor mill, but the source of these rumors was really pissing him off. Kikyou had been busy it seemed, besides all of her on air spots with Cena as part of his crew she had been telling tales of imaginary abuses at Yasha's hands as well as spreading that the reason she had divorced him wasn't because he wouldn't let her just bankrupt him with her spending but because she'd caught him cheating on her. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but she got her sympathy coos from those she told the tale to, and maybe he could have let it go except she had made it her business to whisper loudly about Kagome just where Kagome could hear her. A wry grin suddenly twisted Yasha's lips when he thought about what had happened when finally Kagome had heard "the last straw".

She had a bruise, a rather small one at that on her cheek because Kagome insisted on training with them so that in case she had to get into a match herself she wouldn't look like a total clumsy fool. Yasha had told her the most that she'd get into would be a Diva bra and panties match, but she wanted this and looking at those huge chocolate eyes who was he to say no? Because they had won at Survivor Series his friends from Japan got a unique offer to stick around until after Wrestlemania, so they were out there with her training as well and it was like having an extended family all concerned that she be taught the proper way. Yasha wasn't too keen on Miroku and Kouga being the ones to train her so of course he was in there too. Sometimes they spent more time laughing than actually learning moves, but that had its good points too. Yasha felt that he'd laughed more in the few months Kagome had been with him than he had in his whole life, and like a fool he'd told Miroku that who had of course told Kagome. He was embarrassed, angry that he'd blushed, but her smile sort of took all that away. She had gone to get them all some drinks, and out in the hallway on the way back she'd overheard Kikyou "whispering" about how Yasha was already obviously battering Kagome. That lit a fire in the girl, she'd primly set aside the carrier with the drinks in it, and launched herself at Kikyou with fists flying and screams of "Take that back!" much to the mixed laughter and screams of those Kikyou had been talking to. Fortunately or unfortunately that conversation had been a part of a semi planned interview of Kikyou for a television slot, it could have been ruined except for a bit of quick thinking by the stage manager. What better than a cat fight in his opinion, so the spot would air just as it was filmed.

Kagome had been trembling and in much disarray when she'd come back to the dressing room they were all using, apologizing to them all because she'd lost her temper and started a fight. Patiently (for him that is) Yasha asked her what had happened and in an outraged voice she told him that she had overheard Kikyou saying that Yasha was hitting her! They had all gaped at this, Yasha starting a slow burn and Kouga blinked as if he had trouble wrapping his mind around the implication. A look of anger replaced that stupefaction and his fists clenched.

"He wouldn't dare hit you, Kagome. We'd kill him."

"I wouldn't hit Kagome, you wimpy …"

Kagome had to step between the two of them and her words were the only thing that really diffused the potential fight until Miroku piped up and made them all laugh.

"Wow, our Kagome sure has a hell of a right hook."

On the television the spot was already rolling. Kagome smacked her forehead while the boys crowded around to watch. Kouga was already trying to give her tips from watching the footage about how she could have done this or that and in a way she felt good that they had the confidence that she could actually take care of herself in a fight. She had never had a feeling like that, one of being almost overprotected yet given the confidence to also protect herself, which was a strange sort of feeling but there it was. She knew that she didn't have to, but she could, and that was comforting. That was two weeks ago and the management had let it escalate to the point at the next pay per view not only would Kagome be accompanying Yasha and the others to the ring for their respective matches, she had one of her very own against Kikyou. It was a mid-card match, space filler at best between more important matches but they were psyching her up for a win anyway. She'd gotten her own real gear, Kikyou could come out in flimsy Diva shorts but Yasha and the others had gone in and gotten Kagome real tights and pads, boots with the Team Akita logo and her own robe. Sesshoumaru had gone a step farther though, and had the tech crew put an intro video together just for her of various screen shots and set to the Team Akita music as a surprise. Yasha and the others had seen it and they knew she'd love it. He knew he should be getting ready for his match with Edge tonight, but he was more concerned about Kagome's nerves than his own.

Armageddon. It was tonight, and Yasha had a bad feeling about it. They had set aside the feud with Randy Orton to favor Edge a bit, though something just didn't feel right and he'd found out why he'd had that feeling on last week's RAW. The loser of their match would be kept out of the Royal Rumble. Yasha's heart sank, his hopes for Wrestlemania were resting on the potential to win that pay per view and if he couldn't even get in to the match his guarantees for the main event would be shot. He distinctly felt that he was getting screwed again, that his 'push' had been nothing more than a way to build more interest for Cena and even Orton, their feud had elevated attention towards both of the other wrestlers. There was just that sense of futility, and Yasha was sitting alone brooding about it. Well, he wasn't really alone, they were all in there with him but it was as if he sat under a shadow. He would lose tonight, he'd already been told that he wouldn't even be allowed a disqualification due to interference, and the rest of them knew it too. He allowed himself to sink into a bit of a funk, he could see no way out of it until he felt a hand close on his shoulder.

"Yasha. We've been thinking, the Team and I. No matter what happens, you're going to the Rumble. We're giving you our guaranteed spot."

Surprised, Yasha looked up, golden eyes meeting Matt Hardy's dark gaze. He was most likely giving up his own spot in the Rumble this way, but the conviction was there. It was meant to be this way, they had decided that no screw-job was going to keep Yasha from the promised match at Wrestlemania. He stood up then, and shook Matt's hand, his gaze lifting to meet Miroku and Kouga's, and to see Kagome wiping tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. In his heart he knew what would happen. They couldn't keep him out, so he'd end up with the number one spot and have to fight twenty nine other guys to win. Possibly even some of the men in the room with him right now. But seeing how much they all believed in him, right now this second was enough to make all that worth it. Squaring his shoulders, he went with Kagome and the rest of the Team to watch her match from ringside, to keep Cena from interfering with match. As predicted she loved her intro, Sesshoumaru had done a fantastic job and the crowd had cheered for her and booed Kikyou which also made her smile. Kagome had surprised everyone by taking the match seriously, showing off some of the moves that they had taught her with better than decent proficiency. The crowd was on its feet when she gave Kikyou a Twist of Fate and gotten the pin, the ref counting three before Cena's crew swarmed the ring. Team Akita was right there and while they were taking some serious hits from the bigger wrestlers on Cena's side they were holding their own at least for the moment. Yasha got thrown over the ropes into the security rail and then Cena turned on Kagome. He had her by the hair with his hand way back in a promised strike, though it was doubtful that he'd actually hit her considering he was supposed to be a "face" or good guy it sure looked convincing. Of course no one would know if he actually intended to hit her to avenge Kikyou's loss because as his hand started to come down fast, there was a blur of motion behind him and a strong pale hand gripped his wrist and stopped that blow midstrike.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Yasha's roar of indignation filled that silence, he for one believed that Cena meant to hit his girl. The tableau was frozen for a second as Cena's surprised face turned to see who had restrained him. Cena was strong and fast, and no one on his crew would dared have touched him, save apparently for one. Cena's vibrant gaze met a very cold one, and he swallowed looking into that relentless face, that chilling expression that was on the face of Sesshoumaru. Yasha was there to sweep Kagome out of harm's way and they stood to the side blinking at the pair now in the center of the ring. People in the US might have forgotten Sesshoumaru's past as a wrestler but the men in Team Akita knew it, and broken arm or not this could get ugly fast. A microphone found its way into Sesshoumaru's hand as he released Cena's hand in disgust, a chill partial sneer which was so slight it was hard to truly realize it was there came to his lips as he spoke, rich tones of his voice sounding so warm despite what he said.

"You will not strike her, or you will answer to me."

He threw the microphone down at Cena's feet and swept out of the ring like a god, albeit a god with his left arm in a sling, leaving people blinking in his wake. Team Akita's music swelled while the announcers scrambled to figure out what had just happened in the ring. Was Sesshoumaru withdrawing his support of Cena? Was he attracted to his brother's girlfriend? The ring cleared and the next match started up, Val Venis against Shelton Benjamin, the match going much better than expected despite the drama that had gone on just before it, and after that Yasha would be up for his match against Edge. Kagome got changed into a beautiful kimono and let Miroku put up her hair, she hadn't had much time after getting cleaned up to get presentable but together they'd all managed it. Yasha didn't like the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach, knowing he would lose even though his spot in the Rumble was now assured, he still hated all the losing that he'd had to endure. But he had a grin on his face as he came out, was brash in his interview before the match, he was Yasha and he had Kagome on his arm and he made them believe he'd win. Edge was already waiting in the ring with his escort Lita, glaring at Yasha as he and Kagome entered as well. Lita taunted Kagome by swishing her hips at Yasha, but Kagome had the last laugh when Yasha easily lifted her to sit on his shoulder before setting her out of the ring. Edge certainly couldn't do that with Lita and it made the female wrestler growl. Then the bell rang and the match started and everyone's attention was on the ring.

This was a long and bloody match, both men were split open and bleeding from various cuts, Yasha had a small split in his scalp near the hairline which made his pale hair look crimson and had Kagome worried, Edge had a cut over his right eye which had half blinded him and had Lita worried. They were fighting over a ladder in the middle of the ring now, the object of the match was an attaché case which was suspended high over the ring taunting both men with what was inside. Another guaranteed spot in the Royal Rumble, and the loser of this match was to be excluded. Yasha knew he was going in anyway, thanks to the generosity of his team, but he wasn't letting on yet. He hated losing and he was taking it out on Edge, blows a bit more vicious from both men were making this a harrowing and exciting match. Back and forth moves were traded, both getting partially up the ladders at one point or another until Yasha took an extremely dangerous bump. From the top of the ladder, his fingertips touching the case, Edge charged the ladder and tipped it over to send Yasha crashing onto the concrete below. He was actually knocked out which suited the set ending just fine though it wasn't intentional. He came to hearing Edge's music played in victory and he felt the softness of Kagome's lap as she held him when he sat up. He'd lost and hadn't even been awake for it! It made his growl deep as she helped him up, assuring her that he'd be all right. He endured Vince coming out and making his speech, telling Yasha that he'd never get in the Royal Rumble now with Cena at his side, but then miracles as there was Matt Hardy and Team Akita, interrupting them and declaring publicly what they had told him in the dressing room that they were giving up their slot to Yasha. The crowd went wild, and Vince played it raged, foam flecking his lips as he retorted with what Yasha had known would happen, that while he couldn't keep Yasha out of the Rumble now, that he would go in at number one.

Cena played it like a hero, telling Vince not to worry about it. There was no way that Yasha would make it through twenty nine other guys to win the Rumble, and even if he did manage to do it, Cena was the franchise, the leader of the Chain Gang and he wasn't afraid of anyone. Again with the "want some come get some" and when Vince had stabbed a strong finger into Cena's chest and told him that he had best not lose if he knew what was good for him no matter who he faced, Cena dissed him with a very sharp rap which had the crowd laughing and chanting along. By then someone had gotten the dazed Yasha a microphone and he said one thing with all the conviction in his heart.

"Don't worry about it, Cena. I'll beat those twenty nine other guys, and it's going to be you and me in the center of the ring at Wrestlemania. You and me."

He slung the microphone down and grinned viciously for the crowd and the cameraman, bowed and bloody but far from beaten and he and Kagome left, walking proud like a king and queen up the ramp and past the hamming it up McMahon and the vaguely disturbed, vaguely amused Cena. It was coming. It was coming and was gaining momentum like a freight train with no brakes on greased rails.

Royal Rumble was next, on the Road to Wrestlemania. The Royal Rumble, No Way Out, and then praise be, Wrestlemania.

A/N: A bit shorter than the last chapter, but it seemed to get to where it needed to go! Three more chapters and this will be finished. I'm going to try a slightly different format for the next chapter and I hope it works as I have it laid out in my mind. The Royal Rumble for those not aware of what that is, is a huge three hour over the top rope every man for himself sort of situation which starts with one pair and a new competitor in every three minutes. The only way to be taken out is to be thrown over the top rope and both feet must hit the floor. Of all the Royal Rumbles there have ever been, only a scant handful have come in at number one or number two and have made it all the way to the end to be victorious, lasting the entire time. Of those I can think of off of the top of my head there are Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and Chris Benoit. So Yasha has a bit of an uphill battle ahead!


	6. The Royal Rumble

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be. ' ' is for text messages, I hadn't noted that before but that's what it is.

This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Eddie Guerrero, who passed away 11/11/2005. Your spirit will be missed.

They had not wasted a single opportunity to push the underdog angle so to speak for the Royal Rumble. Yasha was the number one entrant, Edge had a secure slot in the match but no idea what number would be his. Randy was pushing hard for the number thirty slot, promising great pain and punishment to be rained down on Yasha if such were so. Handsome and confident, the third generation superstar was ready for whatever slot he would be given of course, and quick to assure the fans of this, loudly and at every opportunity, but how sweet would it be to have the number thirty slot? Very, very sweet indeed, and rumors circulated even more wildly backstage about favors traded under the table as men became desperate for a slot, or finding out what number they might be brought in at if they were so lucky to get that slot.

To top this off, one of the first things Yasha was treated to when he snapped on the TV backstage was an extended clip featuring his ex-wife Kikyou looking like a million bucks as she strolled the backstage area. What he didn't know was that it was playing live, right as he was watching it, he'd just assumed that it was a pre-filmed reel to bulk up the live show. He wasn't sure if he would be competing tonight, or if he was who he'd be facing and he didn't like that either. It had him brooding, as he reached to snap off the TV because frankly the last thing he wanted to watch was his ex flirting with Edge, with Cena, with Kane … okay, that last one actually made him smirk, what a better match for Kikyou than the wrestler who styled himself as a monster? He heard the shower running beyond where he was sitting, and he had a ready grin for Kagome when she came out wrapped in a super thick white towel, it looked nicer on her than any stupid towel had the right to, and that was a fact. She went around the corner for a brush and Yasha heard the door swing open. He stood up like a shot and was ready to cuss at whoever had come in without knocking though he had hesitated in case it was one of Team Akita. He felt his face pale when he saw that it wasn't any of the guys, but Kikyou herself, the cameraman following her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey Yasha," she said it in a manner she must have thought was sensual but sounded almost tired and sad. "Can I get your opinion on this? I am going to wear it to the ring tonight."

If anything his face got even paler, and a look of almost vague nausea came over his face. This was not happening. No one had come to him to clear this and holy hell this was live TV! Kagome was around the corner in just a towel, and Kikyou was about to open her robe and flash him some stupid lacy lingerie.

"Kikyou, get out of our dressing room. I've got a real lady in here."

For a moment her expression looked dazed, and then came a sharpness to it. His expression warned her, but she opened her mouth to spout out something truly foul. Yasha just knew it, but the moment passed when Kagome abruptly came out bold as brass wearing a cute little sundress. Now, it was in no way the sort of weather that would call for a sundress, and Yasha wasn't even sure where she could have gotten it on such short notice, but he heard even the cameraman gasp. Kikyou was beautiful, but it was a hard cold beauty made colder by the perfection of her features and the way she packaged herself. Kagome was warmth, was life, was fire and feistiness, and her long dark hair gleamed wet combed back from her face and the faint droplets of water on her bare shoulders gleamed in the light the cameraman had brought in. He knew he was staring. Most men might have been lost looking at Kikyou in her lacy frillery, but Yasha only had eyes for Kagome in that soft cotton dress. He watched her until the last second, when her warm arms were sliding around his neck and her weight settled against his back, and he would have sworn the cameraman muttered "Lucky." This seemed to infuriate Kikyou who tried to say something smart and cutting, but Yasha just lifted a bored hand and waved her away. It felt so good to do that, that simple dismissal which would have once been so far beyond him to do. She left in a huff, and Yasha had a reward that he hadn't expected, a warm press of Kagome's lips to his cheek.

"You told her I was a real lady. No one has ever said that before."

"Keh. I was just sayin', is all."

But Kagome wasn't fooled, she'd felt that warmth in his cheek when her lips had touched his skin. Sometimes, just sometimes her Yasha could be almost achingly sweet, and those were the moments she kept in her heart to take out and think about later. They weren't often but they were sincere and that was what counted most. He said them, did those little things, and really meant them. No sweet words could match up to one of his warm growls for Kagome, his sidelong looks when he called her wench like it meant something else, like it meant "mine." As much as neither of them liked the fact, his ex-wife was still a force to be reckoned with and a source for plenty of possible future interference, and not just with matches. Kagome knew from her stunts that led to their fight and subsequently their match that Kikyou was not above lying or worse so she was smart enough to look out for traps, but they were all worried that she had more trouble to come in store for them all. Ironically they were safest from her while she was allied to Cena, because she had to focus much of her attention on him or lose her status and thus the attention and money that came with it. But if she were to break off from supporting Cena and struck up her own agenda, they all felt that would be a very bad thing indeed.

Two weeks later Kagome couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Now, pushwise, it was supposed to be Yasha who took the win. He would have to fight his butt off for it, there was no doubt about it. If something happened, if he got hurt, and this was what worried Kagome most, someone else would have to step up and it would all be for nothing. All the heart wrenching losses he'd had to eat, his pride swallowed, the beatings he'd taken all for the shot, having to watch his brother support his opponent when neither of them wanted that, all would be for nothing if something went wrong. Yasha wouldn't be able to compete in Wrestlemania with a blown knee or a busted arm, but there was nothing he could do but take as much care as possible until then. He'd have to take bumps, everyone was expected to, though he'd do his best to take as few sick bumps as he could. No diving at the concrete, no breaking through furniture if Kagome had anything to say about it, though Yasha was making no promises and as he had laughingly pointed out to her steel chairs were his nemesis anyway, not tables. She hadn't found it nearly as funny as he and Miroku had, stalking off in a fit of anger though Yasha could have sworn he heard her giggling once she shut the door behind her.

The time passed quickly, though to Kagome's extreme displeasure the night before the Royal Rumble Yasha had been jumped in the back by both Edge and Randy Orton. He was sporting a couple of stitches on his forehead covered by a band aid that certainly wouldn't last the night. He kept telling Kagome and the others that he was fine, that he just had a little headache and that was all. It wasn't true, he had a minor concussion and with that came nausea of course, he'd told Sesshoumaru but no one else. He couldn't just give up, not after all they'd both gone through though his brother made him promise that if he couldn't take it to just stop. He wouldn't stop, wouldn't give up, not now. So he'd just have to win, so he didn't break his promise to his older brother. He did have one thing to make him smile though, and it kept a smile on his face despite how he was feeling. Neither Lita nor Bob Orton were going to be anywhere in the building tonight to support either Edge or Randy. He hadn't asked his brother just what he'd said to either of them, but from reports Lita had left the building and was holed up in the hotel, refusing to come out. Yasha got a bit of glee guessing, he figured it was most likely that he'd shown Lita a few pictures of people he'd wrestled in Japan and told her that he'd make an even worse example of Edge. Most people in the US just didn't understand the respect and even fear that Sesshoumaru commanded in Japan and Brazil, but they really should have done a bit of research. All those girls that liked to scream for him might think twice about it if they had seen what he could do with a kendo stick and a lead pipe … but then again, maybe not, American girls did seem to like the bad boys, the badder the better. What made it worse was the fact that on more than one occasion both Randy and Bob had made fun of Sesshoumaru because Bob had broken his arm. Yasha imagined that Sesshou had simply told Bob that if he showed his face at the arena for the Royal Rumble, that what he would do to his son would pale in comparison to his broken arm, and more than likely he had provided pictures for that too. Sesshoumaru was beyond hardcore, and it was time that certain folks remembered that, because he was certainly not above injuring someone and then paying off whatever fine was levied to get him out of trouble. It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before after all, just not here in the UGW.

In plain fact, had his arm not been injured, there would be a few folks that would already have learned the lesson. But frankly it was only a delay, and one day there would be that reckoning. But that was the future, and Yasha was in the now, doing all he could to pay attention to Kagome so that he could keep up the act that he was fine. His head hurt, his stomach was doing flips, but he managed a slight curve of lips just for her. Then it was all moving forward, and she was holding his hand and leading him down the ramp to the ring as the announcer introduced him as the number one entrant to this year's Royal Rumble. She was surprised that he'd wanted her to hold his hand like that, and he didn't tell her why. It was because he wasn't sure that he could walk a straight line down the ramp. She'd have thrown a fit, had she known, and maybe afterwards he'd tell her but not now. Once he was in the ring adrenaline would take over and carry him through, but for now he stood waiting in the center of the ring when Gregory Helms' music began. This made Yasha smile wickedly, he'd been no match for Yasha as Hurricane, and he'd be no match for Yasha now.

Three minutes:

Gregory went over the top rope, and in came Eddie Guerrero.

Six minutes:

Chris Benoit enters.

Nine minutes:

Psychosis enters; Chris Benoit is thrown over the top rope by Eddie and Psychosis.

Twelve minutes:

Rhyno enters.

Fifteen minutes:

Edge enters almost reluctantly; Eddie, Psychosis, and Rhyno are all tossed out by Yasha.

Eighteen minutes:

Christian enters and strikes up a bargain with Edge.

Twenty-One minutes:

Chris Jericho enters, drawing attention away from Yasha.

Twenty-Four minutes:

Nunzio enters.

Twenty-Seven minutes:

Undertaker enters; he immediately removes Nunzio and Christian.

Thirty minutes:

Kane enters.

Thirty-Three minutes:

Val Venis enters.

Thirty-Six minutes:

Golddust enters and is immediately removed by Edge, who is removed by Kane.

Thirty-Nine minutes:

Rob Conway enters; Kane is removed by Val Venis, camera gets a great surprised look pan shot on Yasha.

Forty-Two minutes:

Randy Orton enters; Undertaker removes Rob Conway.

Forty-Five minutes:

Rey Mysterio enters; Yasha is almost removed but does a 'skin the cat' to flip himself back inside at the last minute.

Forty-Eight minutes:

Gene Snitsky enters; Undertaker removes Val Venis.

Fifty-One minutes:

Matt Hardy enters, immediately teams with Yasha.

Fifty-Four minutes:

Big Show enters; removes Snitsky, Mysterio, tries to remove Undertaker but both go over the top, eliminating both men.

Fifty-Seven minutes:

Triple H enters.

Sixty minutes:

Hour one is over, Ric Flair enters. Yasha, Matt Hardy, Randy Orton, Triple H and Ric Flair are in the ring.

The next two hours were a nightmare to Yasha. He was having trouble focusing, and had whispered to Matt the truth, that he had a concussion. Matt did his best to keep the others from coming at Yasha in a group, and he was never happier than when Kouga entered. Randy was knocked cold in the corner, and when the pair lifted him to toss him over all three were eliminated by Triple H. It was his finest moment but unfortunately for Triple H, Yasha had gone on autopilot at that point. He was reacting sheerly on instinct, missing the last name called. All those that would come were done, and finally it was down to Yasha and one other man. JBL had had the coveted number thirty slot and was fresh as a daisy while Yasha was bloody, the stitches of course hadn't held and his golden eyes were pale, unfocused seeming. But every swing JBL took, every move, Yasha countered to the screams and cheers of the fans. Finally he ducked JBL's signature move, the Clothesline from Hell, coming up under the heavier man he lifted him up over his head, spun him into a vicious power bomb, then lifted him up while he was stunned and threw him over the top rope.

There was a moment of silence, then the crowd went insane, cheering and screaming his name as Team Akita came from the back, Kagome leading the way. Her little hands on his arms brought him back to himself with a shudder, and while he would deny it later, there were tears on his cheeks as she lifted his hand in victory. They took him out fast to get medical attention, but it was certain now. Yasha had won the Royal Rumble, and he would be in the Main Event in Wrestlemania.

A/N:

Two more chapters to go!


	7. No Way Out

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be. ' ' is for text messages, I hadn't noted that before but that's what it is.

It was the last pay-per view until Wrestlemania, space filler as it were yet it served its purpose to drum up excitement for the ultimate to come. No Way Out, where the undecided matches were firmed up, rivalries ended or started fresh. No Way Out. It was such an ominous name for a Pay Per View, but fitting in many ways. Most of the matches for Wrestlemania would be decided in this event, save one. It was clear that unless something catastrophic happened between now and then, it would be John Cena vs. Yasha for the World Heavyweight Title. What irritated both men was the wait of course. Cena did not like being the semi-heel that it took to push this angle, he still got the cheers of the crowd and they loved him, unless of course it were he and Yasha facing off and Yasha got the underdog cheers.

Cena wanted that to stop. He'd much rather meet Yasha as equals, as two proud competitors who both strove for the same thing in the squared circle, and he had a plan to make that happen. Unfortunately for Cena, Vince McMahon had other ideas of his own. Cena would be very busy for No Way Out, his 'Chain Gang Crew' were all in matches, including his "advisor" Sesshoumaru and Cena would be expected to be at ringside for them all. He knew that more was going on behind the scenes for this and he wondered if perhaps someone had caught wind that the TNA: NWA guys were trying to woo Sesshoumaru to their program.

He hoped not. Proof or no proof that was a good way to get the ire of the McMahon's on your back and things could happen. He'd just today gotten his cast off and was cleared for action yet here he was a last minute entrant into No Way Out. It was just very suspicious in John's opinion and as he came in with his bags and was greeted by Shane McMahon himself he realized that his suspicions were correct. Tonight they wanted punish Sesshoumaru and they wanted Cena to have a hand in it. Of course he agreed, he had no choice and had far more to lose than just a creepy advisor.

He wanted to tell him though, as he watched the quiet tall man sitting in the corner of the dressing room engaged in one of his favorite pass times, text messaging. They'd traveled together for most of the year after all and he hadn't been a pain in the ass like many would have been under the circumstances. But Shane had warned him not to say a word to Sesshoumaru about this or else … but John Cena was no pussy so he did the next best thing.

The last thing Yasha had expected when he opened the dressing room door was Cena on the other side of it. That heavy knock had made him think it was Kouga bringing back the food they'd ordered and his surprise showed on his face a moment, golden eyes widening just a touch.

"What the hell do you want?"

No one said that Yasha ever beat around the bush now, did they? Kagome had squeaked a little at his strong reaction to their visitor and come up to put her arm around Yasha's waist as she looked up at Cena. There had been a few people in Cena's camp that had made disparaging remarks about Kagome. Saying that she looked like Kikyou except not quite so polished and pretty, among other things. But there she was before him, dressed in sweats and one of Yasha's old t-shirts and she looked like a little earthbound goddess. Not a lick of makeup on her and her dark hair back in a ponytail and Cena's mouth went dry. Damn, Yasha was … _pissed off_ now and knew he'd been staring at his girl. Great.

"Look man, I don't mean no disrespect but I came to warn you. I want you to know it ain't my idea but tonight your brother's getting jumped out of the Chain Gang. I was told not to tell him, but they didn't say I couldn't tell you."

Kagome's lips parted in shock, and she looked up at Yasha. His expression was flat, unreadable but his golden eyes were nearly luminescent in anger. He'd pushed past Cena and moved down the hallway towards catering to fetch Kouga and Miroku, leaving Kagome to thank Cena for his warning and watch him go back towards his own dressing room. She sat back down again and immediately resumed her text messaging with the subject of all the intrigue and warned him herself. She'd grown close to him as she stayed with Yasha, and in her heart he was like the older brother she'd never had and she wasn't about to let him go in unwarned or unprepared.

Needless to say she was pleased with his response. He had a feeling something was up and was on guard and it was all Kagome could ask for. With a sigh she shut off her phone and went to get ready for her own match. Somehow she had gotten involved in a fatal four way match for the Women's World Title and she was nervous about it. Kagome wasn't a wrestler despite her few small wins against Kikyou yet here she was getting ready for a title shot. Trish had lost the title in controversial fashion to said Kikyou and Cena's crew had been trumpeting the fact that they held so much gold. Among them they had the Heavyweight Title, the Women's Title, the United States Championship, and the Intercontinental Title.

Well it was a bit much and Team Akita was determined to change that. As well as Kagome's Fatal Four Way, Miroku and Kouga had a tag team title match, and they were determined to come out of it with the gold. Yasha had a match with Edge, a Street Fight match that was right up Yasha's alley and he was looking forward to it. He found out that Sesshoumaru was facing Snitsky tonight and wondered if Snitsky had any idea what he was up against. He was rather new to the business and had no idea that Sesshoumaru had ever been more than a manager or advisor to wrestlers. He had no idea of the reputation that Sesshoumaru had overseas or he might have been a bit more worried than he was. The only reason he was even a little worried was because Matt Hardy had gone by and told him that he wouldn't want to be in his shoes for any amount of money.

Maybe if he'd had more time he could have done more research. It was doubtful that he would have taken advantage of such time but who knew. As it was all he had were some vague misgivings to ponder over while he got ready for the match later in the pay per view.

Kagome's match was first, and she was the first of the four women to come down to the ring. Dressed proudly in her Team Akita gear and entering to their music while escorted by Yasha she was smiling and waving at the crowd, her buoyant demeanor and her looks capturing hearts. Next came Trish. Many felt that she had been railroaded a bit, that her contractual rematch should have been a single competition and not a match such as this in which anyone that made a pin on anyone won the title. The third competitor was fairly new as well, Candice Michelle, who was if anything even less of a wrestler than Kikyou. Pretty face, nice rack and that was about all she had going for her. Kikyou came in flanked by Cena and Sesshoumaru and flirting with both, showing off her belt and her legs before jumping Kagome before the bell even rang.

It turned out to be a surprisingly brutal match. Candice had been knocked out by a chair shot meant for Trish, the chair wielded by Kikyou. Kagome had recovered well, taking the things she had learned and defending herself admirably against both Kikyou and Trish, even getting a two count on Kikyou before Cena had reached into the ring and yanked her by the ankles right out onto the concrete. She'd landed roughly in a heap and then … things got interesting. As Cena had stood menacingly over her something slammed into his chest with the force of a freight train and throwing him back into the wooden security railing. _Yasha, must be Yasha_ … he had time to think before he rolled to his knees and struggled to stand.

It hadn't been Yasha at all, Yasha was struggling with the tag team champions Carlito and Chris who had come down to interfere. If not Yasha, who? The snarl alerted him to the fact he was not out of the woods just yet, and amazed he watched Sesshoumaru scoop Kagome up and set her on her feet, making sure she was fine before turning on Cena once more. Well, it wasn't supposed to happen until later tonight, but hey why not do it now when he had an excuse? So he jumped up and swung a fist at Sesshoumaru's temple to the gasps of the watching ringside crowd, but the heavy shot was easily dodged by Sesshoumaru. The lightning fast punches that he threw at Cena however weren't so easily escaped and he reeled back, missing the final moves of the title match in the ring.

Kagome had gotten a sunset flip on Kikyou as Trish struggled to rise and break it up, but the referee got in the three count before her dive was complete. Kagome rolled out of the way letting Trish crash heavily into Kikyou, and the music of Team Akita swelled in the arena. Security had managed to herd Carlito and Chris back to the back and so it was Yasha who was there to raise her hand in victory along with the ref. Team Akita had promised to come away with gold after this event was done, and they had started with Kagome!

The fight with Cena and Sesshoumaru was finally broken up, Cena looked rough and Sesshoumaru didn't look like he had a hair out of place. Yasha had held a hand out to him and while it seemed for a moment he would take it, he shook his head no. He knew the wrath was coming down on him tonight and didn't want Yasha to pay for it if he could help it. But then Yasha was there embracing him like he would drown without him, Kagome there with her arms too and tears on her face from the emotion of her surprise win. His head bowed a bit, Sesshoumaru allowed them to welcome him back into the fold, and he left with them under the fanfare of the music.

A few matches later and it was time for Miroku and Kouga to shine, and they did. Miroku dazzled the crowd with his daredevil highflying moves and Kouga surprised them all with his own death defying leap from the cage that was suspended overhead for the next match, the screams and cheers of the crowd wild. In the end Miroku had gotten the pin on Chris after Kouga had kicked him in the face and brought him down. The crowd gave them a standing ovation as once more the music of Team Akita swelled and filled the air. When the night had started the Chain Gang held all the gold. As it wound down, Team Akita had taken some of it for themselves.

In the back, Cena was uneasy. The last match was coming up, Snitsky vs. Sesshoumaru and while Sesshoumaru had already been brought back into the arms of Team Akita Shane had come to Cena to upbraid him for the circumstances in which it had happened. He'd tried to soothe the son of the man that wrote his paychecks but then Shane had told him in no uncertain terms that Sesshoumaru was to be beaten down by the end of the Event or there would be consequences that Cena would not want to even think about. This just smacked of a mistake to him, but he had his orders.

Snitsky never stood a chance, despite his size and power. Sesshoumaru was too fast, too skilled, too … Sesshoumaru. He had the perfect build, strong but not bulky and he proved his strength lifting Snitsky over his head and holding him there before moving him into the perfect sit down power bomb. The dazed wrestler was easy to pin and Sesshoumaru had his moment of triumph. That moment lasted long enough for the crowd to actually see him smile, and then hell was unleashed in the ring. The entire Chain Gang came down for the fight and scarily enough for long moments Sesshoumaru held his own, making all of them rethink their opinions of him. Creepy yes, weak and soft … no damn way.

But finally like ants pulling down a lion beetle the numbers took their toll and he wavered. But in the moment they were holding him so Cena could hit him with the belt Yasha exploded into the ring with Miroku and Kouga hot on his heels, Matt Hardy and Kagome near flying down the ramp in their wake to help out. The ring was cleared and Team Akita's music rose as Yasha and Kouga helped Sesshoumaru stand and then lifted both his hands in victory. Yasha grinned ferally as Kagome kissed his brother on the cheek and then kissed him and the images on the screens around the arena told the tale of their victory. All in all it had been an excellent show.

AN:

One more chapter to go!


	8. Wrestlemania

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be. ' ' is for text messages, I hadn't noted that before but that's what it is.

The day before had gone surprisingly well. They'd all attended the annual "Bacon, Biceps, and Brunch" mixer where fans lucky enough to have tickets got to eat with their favorite superstars and get pictures and autographs. Yasha of course was fairly popular and by the time it was over he felt permanently dazzled by all the flashes from the cameras. That night came the Wrestling Hall of Fame inductions, and that had been entertaining on many levels.

There had been five inductees that night, ranging from wrestling legends to legendary announcers and the presenters had been amusing to say the least. Stone Cold Steve Austin had inducted Brett Hart to a standing ovation and it was wonderful to see the former Heavyweight Champion get his due finally. Everyone had stayed up way later than they should have for the after party which is why the next morning in their hotel room Yasha finally let Kagome sleep in.

He was usually very avid that she be up with him at the crack of dawn though he never admitted to her why this was. He was afraid that if he told her that he wanted her there to watch him workout, that he wanted to simply _be_ with her that she might laugh. If she laughed it would hurt him, far more than he'd ever admit so he never told her, just woke her and dragged her along regardless of her desire to sleep.

But today he decided to take it easy, letting her sleep while he lay there and watched her. It was peaceful, far more peaceful than Yasha usually allowed himself to be and he enjoyed the moments immensely. When Kagome finally woke his warm golden eyes were the first thing she focused on and the smile she gave him while small was genuine and loving. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. She was the reason he fought so hard, following the push despite the beatings and losses it entailed. She gave him the strength to endure, and while she was at his side, he could do anything.

But looking at her, all he could say was ..

"I got you a surprise."

She squealed softly in delight, she didn't ask him what it was because it could have been a river rock from a Denny's parking lot and it would have made her happy because it came from Yasha. He let her sit up in bed and then slid out of its warm comfort to bring out the boxes where he'd stowed them in the small closet area the night before. Kagome watched him quizzically as he set them on the bed, and he bit his lip before nudging them to her. She tilted her head and then smiled at him, taking the first one to open. There was a pause and then her fingers tremblingly touched what was inside. Her eyes were so wide and she looked like she wanted to cry a moment and Yasha felt like wilting. Did she hate it?

Then she pushed the box aside and launched herself into his arms, whispering how she loved it, and how it was the finest thing she'd ever seen. He'd gotten her a genuine antique kimono set, all the pieces of the highly traditional garment were in the other boxes. The silk was stippled, painted by hand by some long dead artist in painstaking detail and it was easily worth double what he'd paid for it. He wanted her to have the best of course, especially for tonight.

The rest of the day went by in a whirlwind. They got to the arena and met up with the others, discussing how they hoped that this would be the best Wrestlemania ever, since of course they were in it. It took Kagome more time than she expected to get ready, and in the end she had to have Yasha help her finish though she'd wanted to show him after she was completely done. Her hair was up and she looked so beautiful and exotic that Yasha almost wanted to just stay here in the room and stare at her for an hour or two, but it was getting close to the time that they had to be ready at the curtain for his match.

Miroku and Kouga successfully defended their recently won tag team titles, and Matt Hardy found himself the proud new Intercontinental Champion. RVD had defeated the current holder of the United States Championship and the crowd was full of vibrant energy. Yasha was pacing behind the heavy backstage curtain, feeding off of the energy the crowd projected. Since the end of the last match a chant had begun, they knew the Main Event was next and that it was going to be a classic clash of hungry opponents. Yasha determined to win the title and Cena determined to keep his title.

The chant was for Yasha and it made him feel ten feet tall and bulletproof. Finally the last commercial break was over and the music of Team Akita began. As planned Kagome went first, a fan snapped open and she flirted with the crowd, almost dancing her way down to the ring in her gliding steps looking absolutely gorgeous in her antique kimono. As the music swelled Miroku and Kouga came out, freshly showered and in clean gear, a grin shared between the two of them at the gold around their waists as they showed off to the crowd.

Next came Matt Hardy with his brand spanking new title belt, the gold gleaming as the flash bulbs went off in the crowd. The three of them entered the ring, taking position at the corners and waving to the crowd. Kagome waited on the apron, her attention back to the ramp that led to the ring. The music swelled again and suddenly the pyrotechnics started and Yasha's video was rolling on the giant monitors. Sesshoumaru stalked down the ramp then and soon after him came Yasha himself and the audience exploded with wild cheers. His white hair was in a high topknot but otherwise free and he grinned while making his charge towards the ring.

He gave a feral growl as the ring announcer made his name roll through the arena and he did a standing jump to the ring apron next to Kagome. He leaned in close and sensually stroked the back of his hand over her cheek before he picked her up and lifted her over the top rope to set her in the ring. Another jump had him next to her and he lifted her to sit on his shoulder as he proudly took the remaining corner to lift his free hand in the air. As the music faded the others left the ring and he handed Kagome down to his brother before leaving himself to make way for Cena's entrance.

Cena's music swelled and the cheers began again, despite the 'feud' between the two of them Cena was still popular with the fans. Kikyou came down behind John in a slinky white and red dress that hugged her curves and made her look wanton and lush. She held the ropes open for John as he strutted around the ring, taking off the belt and letting her hand it down to the referee as the ring announcer said his name. He peeled off his shirt and threw it into the crowd as the announcer stated the terms of this match, and that it was one fall with the winner proclaimed as the Heavyweight Champion.

The respective sides cleared the ring and hung back by the security barriers, Sesshoumaru glaring murder at Carlito and Chris, warning them silently that they better not interfere. The ring bell sounded then and the match began, the action fast and furious. They started out with tests of strength in which they were fairly evenly matched and then the fists started flying. Cena's cheek started bleeding and the blood splattered Yasha's chest as they fought, vivid against his skin. Yasha broke from the close quarter fighting to run full speed at the ropes and then he used the momentum to plow into Cena with the force of a runaway train.

The collision made a resounding smack that echoed even over the noise of the cheering crowd and a shaken Cena fell to the mat. Things just got more vicious from there, Yasha getting Cena with a hard spike DDT before attempting the first cover of the match. He got a two count before Cena kicked out and the fight was on again. Yasha could hear Kagome cheering for him and that pumped him up way more than even the sounds of the crowd. It wasn't long after that of course that the fighting started at ringside, Cena's Chain Gang taking on Team Akita. The crowd loved it, and it served as a perfect distraction for Cena to take after Yasha with his gold plated chain.

He swung it at Yasha only to have Yasha catch it and use it to yank Cena into his waiting fist over and over to the delight of the fans. Move after move came, before Cena finally stunned Yasha and got him up for the F-U. The crowd gasped, Kagome screamed, and that snapped Yasha out of it. He counted the F-U, turning it into a tight hurricanarana, landing Cena hard before rolling over his chest to pin him. It was one of the sweetest sounds he thought he had ever heard, that third strike of the referee's palm to the mat, and Yasha was the winner. He let go of Cena and rolled to his feet, the ref lifting his hand in victory and Kagome scrambling in the antique kimono to enter the ring and be by his side.

The ref handed him the belt and he held it over his head, then he handed it to Kagome and lifted her up over his head and she raised the belt. The crowd went wild, erupting in cheers and screams as he turned her slowly before bringing her down to enfold her in his arms. She didn't care that he was sweaty and bloody, and that his white hair damply stuck to her skin when his topknot swung forward when he kissed her. One of the announcers came up as Team Akita's music played and asked Yasha what he was feeling now that he'd won, and he took the microphone and looked Kagome square in the eye.

"Marry me, Kagome, and I'll have everything I've ever wanted."

She gasped, and when she said yes some of the women in the audience cried. They played that scene more than once over the next few weeks as Yasha settled in for his title run and it never failed to make Kagome smile. The Road to Wrestlemania was over for now and eventually this run would end as they all did. But what a ride it would be, and Yasha would face it with Kagome at his side and as his wife.

AN: Well there it is, story's done! It was cute and fun for me and I hope those that read it enjoy it as much as I did.


End file.
